Blockchain gaming system

ABSTRACT

A block chain system allows mining for new valid values in a system such as a computer game or computer-based trading card system. Instead of each new value being added to the block chain being equivalent, each new value is one of a plurality of possible choices.

This application is related to the present assignee's patent applicationentitled “COLLABORATIVE CONTENT CREATION SYSTEM”, filed Oct. 25, 2017 asU.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/793,707.

FIELD

The present application relates to technically inventive, non-routinesolutions that are necessarily rooted in computer technology and thatproduce concrete technical improvements.

BACKGROUND

Computer games and the objects used in the games (such as characters,weapons, etc.) typically are generated by a single authorizing entity.

SUMMARY

As understood herein, a decentralized market for in-game objects that isnot controlled by any company can be more trusted by users, making thein-game items more valuable. A system supporting such a marketadvantageously can be used to support object creation between differentplatforms that a game is played on, so that, for example, if a useracquires an item in a PC version of a game, the user can transfer theitem to a user who is playing a console version of the same game. Such asystem may also be used to transfer items or in-game currency between aset of games that has that set of items or in-game currency in common.

In an aspect, an article of manufacture includes at least one computerstorage that is not a transitory signal and that in turn includesinstructions executable by at least one processor to access a datastructure containing information related to non-monetary content, and toaccess at least a first block chain containing information related toownership of content represented in the data structure. The instructionsare executable to use the information in the block chain and datastructure to obtain content represented in the data structure.

In some examples, the instructions can be executable to access a blockchain containing information related to publishers of content in thedata structure, and to use the information related to publishers ofcontent to obtain content represented in the data structure. Exampleinstructions may be further executable to access a block chaincontaining information related to retailers of content in the datastructure, and to use the information related to retailers of content toobtain content represented in the data structure. Still further, exampleinstructions may be executable to access a block chain containinginformation related to distribution rights related to content in thedata structure, and to use the information related to distributionrights to obtain content represented in the data structure. In someimplementations, the block chain containing information related topublishers, the block chain containing information related to retailers,and the block chain containing information related to distributionrights are implemented by a single third block chain. In otherimplementations, the block chain containing information related topublishers, the block chain containing information related to retailers,and the block chain containing information related to distributionrights are implemented by respective separate third, fourth, and fifthblock chains. The data structure representing content may be a blockchain such as the first block chain or a second block chain differentfrom the first block chain.

In another aspect, a system includes a processor-executed rule modulethat includes instructions about how a processor-accessible ownershipblock chain and a processor-accessible data structure (such as a contentblock chain) are added to and how the validity of the block chains isverified. The instructions also include a type of content informationthat can be stored in the content block chain. The system includes theprocessor-accessible ownership block chain, which includes a chain ofownership blocks having information related to ownership of content inthe processor-accessible content block chain. The information related toownership of content includes information of a type of content indicatedin the content block chain that is owned. The system further includesthe processor-accessible content block chain with information about thecontent for which the system can track ownership as reflected in aseries of content blocks.

In examples, content ownership indicated in the ownership block chainindicates particular pieces of content. In other examples, contentownership indicated in the ownership block chain indicates units of aparticular type of content. In non-limiting embodiments contentownership indicated in the ownership block chain indicates ownership forfractional units of content.

If desired, the instructions in the processor-executed rule moduleprovide a mapping of a new value to a type that it is assigned. Themapping of a new value to a type may be based at least in part onweightings of plural respective types so that statistically over time anumber of new values created of a given type is proportional to thattype's respective weighting. In some examples, the mapping can beexecuted at least in part based on a modulo of an identification of anew value and mapping different types to modulo values depending ontheir respective weightings.

Content represented in the processor-accessible content block chain mayinclude one or more of: video game objects, video games, video content,audio content.

In another aspect, a method includes independently tracking ownership ofcontent using an ownership block chain, independently tracking, using acontent data structure such as a content block chain, content related toownership of content indicated in the ownership block chain, andmanaging alteration of the block chains using a rule module.

The details of the present application, both as to its structure andoperation, can best be understood in reference to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like parts, and inwhich:

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system consistent with presentprinciples;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a system used to track user ownership ofcontent;

FIG. 3 is a system diagram of the entities involved in oneimplementation of the system in which the system is used toindependently track ownership of content rights; and

FIG. 4 is a system diagram of one implementation of a system that can beused for the system implementation in FIG. 3.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

This disclosure relates generally to computer ecosystems includingaspects of consumer electronics (CE) device networks such as but notlimited to computer game networks. A system herein may include serverand client components, connected over a network such that data may beexchanged between the client and server components. The clientcomponents may include one or more computing devices including gameconsoles such as Sony PlayStation® or a game console made by Microsoftor Nintendo or other manufacturer virtual reality (VR) headsets,augmented reality (AR) headsets, portable televisions (e.g. smart TVs,Internet-enabled TVs), portable computers such as laptops and tabletcomputers, and other mobile devices including smart phones andadditional examples discussed below. These client devices may operatewith a variety of operating environments. For example, some of theclient computers may employ, as examples, Linux operating systems,operating systems from Microsoft, or a Unix operating system, oroperating systems produced by Apple Computer or Google. These operatingenvironments may be used to execute one or more browsing programs, suchas a browser made by Microsoft or Google or Mozilla or other browserprogram that can access websites hosted by the Internet serversdiscussed below. Also, an operating environment according to presentprinciples may be used to execute one or more computer game programs.

Servers and/or gateways may include one or more processors executinginstructions that configure the servers to receive and transmit dataover a network such as the Internet. Or, a client and server can beconnected over a local intranet or a virtual private network. A serveror controller may be instantiated by a game console such as a SonyPlayStation®, a personal computer, etc.

Information may be exchanged over a network between the clients andservers. To this end and for security, servers and/or clients caninclude firewalls, load balancers, temporary storages, and proxies, andother network infrastructure for reliability and security. One or moreservers may form an apparatus that implement methods of providing asecure community such as an online social website to network members.

As used herein, instructions refer to computer-implemented steps forprocessing information in the system. Instructions can be implemented insoftware, firmware or hardware and include any type of programmed stepundertaken by components of the system.

A processor may be any conventional general-purpose single- ormulti-chip processor that can execute logic by means of various linessuch as address lines, data lines, and control lines and registers andshift registers.

Software modules described by way of the flow charts and user interfacesherein can include various sub-routines, procedures, etc. Withoutlimiting the disclosure, logic stated to be executed by a particularmodule can be redistributed to other software modules and/or combinedtogether in a single module and/or made available in a shareablelibrary.

Present principles described herein can be implemented as hardware,software, firmware, or combinations thereof; hence, illustrativecomponents, blocks, modules, circuits, and steps are set forth in termsof their functionality.

The functions and methods described below, when implemented in software,can be written in an appropriate language such as but not limited toJava, C#or C++, and can be stored on or transmitted through acomputer-readable storage medium such as a random access memory (RAM),read-only memory (ROM), electrically erasable programmable read-onlymemory (EEPROM), compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or other opticaldisk storage such as digital versatile disc (DVD), magnetic disk storageor other magnetic storage devices including removable thumb drives, etc.A connection may establish a computer-readable medium. Such connectionscan include, as examples, hard-wired cables including fiber optics andcoaxial wires and digital subscriber line (DSL) and twisted pair wires.Such connections may include wireless communication connectionsincluding infrared and radio.

Further to what has been alluded to above, logical blocks, modules, andcircuits described below can be implemented or performed with ageneral-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (DSP), a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA) or other programmable logic device suchas an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), discrete gate ortransistor logic, discrete hardware components, or any combinationthereof designed to perform the functions described herein. A processorcan be implemented by a controller or state machine or a combination ofcomputing devices. Thus, the methods herein may be implemented assoftware instructions executed by a processor, suitably configuredapplication specific integrated circuits (ASIC) or field programmablegate array (FPGA) modules, or any other convenient manner as would beappreciated by those skilled in those art. Where employed, the softwareinstructions may be embodied in a non-transitory device such as a harddisk drive, CD ROM or Flash drive. The software code instructions mayalso be downloaded over the Internet.

Components included in one embodiment can be used in other embodimentsin any appropriate combination. For example, any of the variouscomponents described herein and/or depicted in the Figures may becombined, interchanged or excluded from other embodiments.

“A system having at least one of A, B, and C” (likewise “a system havingat least one of A, B, or C” and “a system having at least one of A, B,C”) includes systems that have A alone, B alone, C alone, A and Btogether, A and C together, B and C together, and/or A, B, and Ctogether, etc.

Now specifically referring to FIG. 1, an example system 10 is shown,which may include one or more of the example devices mentioned above anddescribed further below in accordance with present principles. The firstof the example devices included in the system 10 is a consumerelectronics (CE) device such as an audio video device (AVD) 12 such asbut not limited to an Internet-enabled TV with a TV tuner (equivalently,set top box controlling a TV). However, the AVD 12 alternatively may bean appliance or household item, e.g. computerized Internet enabledrefrigerator, washer, or dryer. The AVD 12 alternatively may also be acomputerized Internet enabled (“smart”) telephone, a tablet computer, anotebook computer, a wearable computerized device such as e.g.computerized Internet-enabled watch, a computerized Internet-enabledbracelet, other computerized Internet-enabled devices, a computerizedInternet-enabled music player, computerized Internet-enabled headphones, a computerized Internet-enabled implantable device such as animplantable skin device, etc. Regardless, it is to be understood thatthe AVD 12 is configured to undertake present principles (e.g.communicate with other CE devices to undertake present principles,execute the logic described herein, and perform any other functionsand/or operations described herein).

Accordingly, to undertake such principles the AVD 12 can be establishedby some or all of the components shown in FIG. 1. For example, the AVD12 can include one or more displays 14 that may be implemented by a highdefinition or ultra-high definition “4K” or higher flat screen and thatmay be touch-enabled for receiving user input signals via touches on thedisplay. The AVD 12 may include one or more speakers 16 for outputtingaudio in accordance with present principles, and at least one additionalinput device 18 such as e.g. an audio receiver/microphone for e.g.entering audible commands to the AVD 12 to control the AVD 12. Theexample AVD 12 may also include one or more network interfaces 20 forcommunication over at least one network 22 such as the Internet, an WAN,an LAN, etc. under control of one or more processors 24. A graphicsprocessor 24A may also be included. Thus, the interface 20 may be,without limitation, a Wi-Fi transceiver, which is an example of awireless computer network interface, such as but not limited to a meshnetwork transceiver. It is to be understood that the processor 24controls the AVD 12 to undertake present principles, including the otherelements of the AVD 12 described herein such as a graphics processor 24a for controlling the display 14 to present images thereon and receivinginput therefrom. Furthermore, note the network interface 20 may be,e.g., a wired or wireless modem or router, or other appropriateinterface such as, e.g., a wireless telephony transceiver, or Wi-Fitransceiver as mentioned above, etc.

In addition to the foregoing, the AVD 12 may also include one or moreinput ports 26 such as, e.g., a high definition multimedia interface(HDMI) port or a USB port to physically connect (e.g. using a wiredconnection) to another CE device and/or a headphone port to connectheadphones to the AVD 12 for presentation of audio from the AVD 12 to auser through the headphones. For example, the input port 26 may beconnected via wire or wirelessly to a cable or satellite source 26 a ofaudio video content. Thus, the source 26 a may be, e.g., a separate orintegrated set top box, or a satellite receiver. Or, the source 26 a maybe a game console or disk player containing content such as computergame software and databases. The source 26 a when implemented as a gameconsole may include some or all of the components described below inrelation to the CE device 44.

The AVD 12 may further include one or more computer memories 28 such asdisk-based or solid-state storage that are not transitory signals, insome cases embodied in the chassis of the AVD as standalone devices oras a personal video recording device (PVR) or video disk player eitherinternal or external to the chassis of the AVD for playing back AVprograms or as removable memory media. Also in some embodiments, the AVD12 can include a position or location receiver such as but not limitedto a cellphone receiver, GPS receiver and/or altimeter 30 that isconfigured to e.g. receive geographic position information from at leastone satellite or cellphone tower and provide the information to theprocessor 24 and/or determine an altitude at which the AVD 12 isdisposed in conjunction with the processor 24. However, it is to beunderstood that another suitable position receiver other than acellphone receiver, GPS receiver and/or altimeter may be used inaccordance with present principles to e.g. determine the location of theAVD 12 in e.g. all three dimensions.

Continuing the description of the AVD 12, in some embodiments the AVD 12may include one or more cameras 32 that may be, e.g., a thermal imagingcamera, a digital camera such as a webcam, and/or a camera integratedinto the AVD 12 and controllable by the processor 24 to gatherpictures/images and/or video in accordance with present principles. Anyof the cameras described herein may employ the high spectrum cameraexample or multiple examples described further below.

Also included on the AVD 12 may be a Bluetooth transceiver 34 and otherNear Field Communication (NFC) element 36 for communication with otherdevices using Bluetooth and/or NFC technology, respectively. An exampleNFC element can be a radio frequency identification (RFID) element.Zigbee also may be used.

Further still, the AVD 12 may include one or more auxiliary sensors 37(e.g., a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope, cyclometer,or a magnetic sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an optical sensor, aspeed and/or cadence sensor, a gesture sensor (e.g. for sensing gesturecommand), etc.) providing input to the processor 24. The AVD 12 mayinclude an over-the-air TV broadcast port 38 for receiving OTA TVbroadcasts providing input to the processor 24. In addition to theforegoing, it is noted that the AVD 12 may also include an infrared (IR)transmitter and/or IR receiver and/or IR transceiver 42 such as an IRdata association (IRDA) device. A battery (not shown) may be providedfor powering the AVD 12.

Still referring to FIG. 1, in addition to the AVD 12, the system 10 mayinclude one or more other CE device types. In one example, a first CEdevice 44 may be used to send computer game audio and video to the AVD12 via commands sent directly to the AVD 12 and/or through thebelow-described server while a second CE device such as the source 26 amay include similar components as the first CE device 44. In the exampleshown, CE device may be configured as a VR headset worn by a player or ahand-held game controller manipulated by the player. In the exampleshown, fewer or greater devices may be used.

In the example shown, to illustrate present principles the devices areassumed to be members of an entertainment network in, e.g., a home, orat least to be present in proximity to each other in a location such asa house. However, present principles are not limited to a particularlocation, illustrated by dashed lines 48, unless explicitly claimedotherwise.

The example non-limiting first CE device 44 may be established by anyone of the above-mentioned devices, for example, a portable wirelesslaptop computer or notebook computer or game controller (also referredto as “console”), and accordingly may have one or more of the componentsdescribed below. The first CE device 44 may be a remote control (RC)for, e.g., issuing AV play and pause commands to the AVD 12, or it maybe a more sophisticated device such as a tablet computer, a gamecontroller communicating via wired or wireless link with the AVD 12, apersonal computer, a wireless telephone, etc.

Accordingly, the first CE device 44 may include one or more displays 50that may be touch-enabled for receiving user input signals via toucheson the display. The first CE device 44 may include one or more speakers52 for outputting audio in accordance with present principles, and atleast one additional input device 54 such as e.g. an audioreceiver/microphone for e.g. entering audible commands to the first CEdevice 44 to control the device 44. The example first CE device 44 mayalso include one or more network interfaces 56 for communication overthe network 22 under control of one or more CE device processors 58. Agraphics processor 58A may also be included. Thus, the interface 56 maybe, without limitation, a Wi-Fi transceiver, which is an example of awireless computer network interface, including mesh network interfaces.It is to be understood that the processor 58 controls the first CEdevice 44 to undertake present principles, including the other elementsof the first CE device 44 described herein such as e.g. controlling thedisplay 50 to present images thereon and receiving input therefrom.Furthermore, note the network interface 56 may be, e.g., a wired orwireless modem or router, or other appropriate interface such as, e.g.,a wireless telephony transceiver, or Wi-Fi transceiver as mentionedabove, etc.

In addition to the foregoing, the first CE device 44 may also includeone or more input ports 60 such as, e.g., a HDMI port or a USB port tophysically connect (e.g. using a wired connection) to another CE deviceand/or a headphone port to connect headphones to the first CE device 44for presentation of audio from the first CE device 44 to a user throughthe headphones. The first CE device 44 may further include one or moretangible computer readable storage medium 62 such as disk-based orsolid-state storage. Also in some embodiments, the first CE device 44can include a position or location receiver such as but not limited to acellphone and/or GPS receiver and/or altimeter 64 that is configured toe.g. receive geographic position information from at least one satelliteand/or cell tower, using triangulation, and provide the information tothe CE device processor 58 and/or determine an altitude at which thefirst CE device 44 is disposed in conjunction with the CE deviceprocessor 58. However, it is to be understood that another suitableposition receiver other than a cellphone and/or GPS receiver and/oraltimeter may be used in accordance with present principles to e.g.determine the location of the first CE device 44 in e.g. all threedimensions.

Continuing the description of the first CE device 44, in someembodiments the first CE device 44 may include one or more cameras 66that may be, e.g., a thermal imaging camera, a digital camera such as awebcam, and/or a camera integrated into the first CE device 44 andcontrollable by the CE device processor 58 to gather pictures/imagesand/or video in accordance with present principles. Also included on thefirst CE device 44 may be a Bluetooth transceiver 68 and other NearField Communication (NFC) element 70 for communication with otherdevices using Bluetooth and/or NFC technology, respectively. An exampleNFC element can be a radio frequency identification (RFID) element.

Further still, the first CE device 44 may include one or more auxiliarysensors 72 (e.g., a motion sensor such as an accelerometer, gyroscope,cyclometer, or a magnetic sensor, an infrared (IR) sensor, an opticalsensor, a speed and/or cadence sensor, a gesture sensor (e.g. forsensing gesture command), etc.) providing input to the CE deviceprocessor 58. The first CE device 44 may include still other sensorssuch as e.g. one or more climate sensors 74 (e.g. barometers, humiditysensors, wind sensors, light sensors, temperature sensors, etc.) and/orone or more biometric sensors 76 providing input to the CE deviceprocessor 58. In addition to the foregoing, it is noted that in someembodiments the first CE device 44 may also include an infrared (IR)transmitter and/or IR receiver and/or IR transceiver 78 such as an IRdata association (IRDA) device. A battery (not shown) may be providedfor powering the first CE device 44. The CE device 44 may communicatewith the AVD 12 through any of the above-described communication modesand related components.

A CE device may include some or all of the components shown for the CEdevice 44. CE devices may be powered by one or more batteries.

Now in reference to the afore-mentioned at least one server 80, itincludes at least one server processor 82, at least one tangiblecomputer readable storage medium 84 such as disk-based or solid-statestorage, and at least one network interface 86 that, under control ofthe server processor 82, allows for communication with the other devicesof FIG. 1 over the network 22, and indeed may facilitate communicationbetween servers and client devices in accordance with presentprinciples. Note that the network interface 86 may be, e.g., a wired orwireless modem or router, Wi-Fi transceiver, or other appropriateinterface such as, e.g., a wireless telephony transceiver.

Accordingly, in some embodiments the server 80 may be an Internet serveror an entire server “farm”, and may include and perform “cloud”functions such that the devices of the system 10 may access a “cloud”environment via the server 80 in example embodiments for, e.g., networkgaming applications. Or, the server 80 may be implemented by one or moregame consoles or other computers in the same room as the other devicesshown in FIG. 1 or nearby.

FIG. 2 shows a block diagram of a system used to track user ownership ofcontent. The modules/logic represented in FIG. 2 may be implemented bycompilers that receive source code instructions and convert the sourcecode to machine-readable code to execute the instructions. System rules201 include instructions about how an ownership block chain 202 and acontent block chain 204 are added to and how the validity of the blockchains is verified. The instructions also govern the type of contentinformation that can be stored in the content block chain and how thatcontent information is interpreted. In addition, the instructions governhow a consensus is reached for what content information should be addedto the content block chain.

The ownership block chain 202 tracks the user ownership of content. Theownership block chain 202 is comprised of a chain of ownership blocks203. Each ownership block 203 can contain a collection of records ofuser ownership of content, including transfer from one owner to another.Each ownership block 203 can be linked to the chain of blocks before bythe inclusion of cryptographic hashes based on the previous blocks. Eachownership block may be cryptographically signed to allow the validity tobe verified. Once an ownership block is included in the block chain itcannot be modified. The ownership information in the block can beoverwritten by information in blocks that are added later indicatingthat the ownership of a piece of content transferred from one owner toanother owner. One advantage of such a system is that it can allow forin-game content that can be transferred between users independently ofany game system, publisher, or platform. Each ownership block 203 mayalso include new content ownership as allowed by system rules 201, suchas through mining or maintenance of the block chain.

A significant difference between the ownership block chain 202 and theblock chains used for tracking crypto currencies is that the ownershiptracked in the ownership block chain is not just an indication of aquantity that is owned, but is an indication of the type of content thatis owned. In some implementations, the content ownership is for aparticular piece of content, in which case the ownership can be a singleatomic unit. In some implementations, the content ownership is for aunit of a particular type of content. In some implementations, thecontent ownership can be for a quantity, including fractional units, ofa particular type of content.

The content block chain 204 can include information about the contentfor which the system can track ownership. The content block chain 204includes a series of content blocks 205 that are organized into a blockchain similar to how the ownership blocks 203 are organized into a blockchain.

There are separate rules in the system rules 201 for how content isadded to the ownership block chain and how content is added to thecontent block chain. As contemplated herein, the rules mentioned aboveprovide a deterministic mapping of a new value to the type that it isassigned so that all participants in the block chain can verify theassignment of the new value to a type. In an alternate implementation,the owner of the new value has certain choices in what that value canbe. When the owner registers the new value the user also registers anychoices made in determining what the characteristics or type that thenew value will have.

Furthermore, the mapping of a new value to a type can be based onweightings of the types so that statistically over time the number ofnew values created of a given type will be proportional to that type'sweighting. Such a mapping can be done by taking a modulo of an ID of thenew value and having different types map to larger or smaller ranges ofthe possible modulo values depending on their weightings. This may beused, for example, a collectable trading card game for having some cardsbe more common than others, such as games that have common, uncommon,and rare cards. Any unique values can be populated in the initialblocks.

In some implementations, all object creation may be done by the companythat controls the game and the initial allocation is done by the gamecompany as people complete certain achievements in the game or spendcurrency, either in-game or real world, to purchase the items. Or,mining for new objects can be done by the game when users in the gameperform certain actions, such as opening a chest. The set of items thata newly found item can be might be completely deterministic. The set ofitems that a newly found item can be might be based on a characteristicof the game character, such as the class, race, quest, inventory, wishlist, or level of a character. It may also be determined by otherelements of the game world, such as difficulty setting, portions of themap that have been discovered or explored, any unlocks that have beenachieved, or achievements of the player, such as trophies earned. Such amechanism can be used to ensure that the item is useful to the characterand is in balance with the current game play. In some implementations,the ownership granted to the user may be recorded with unresolvedchoices to be made and those choices may be recorded later. Such animplementation has the advantage that ownership of a newly mined unitmay be recorded at the time the mining happens even if the user is notavailable to make any allowed choices at that time.

In some implementations content in the list of available content can beassociated with an originator who may grant new content of that type tousers. In some implementations, some content can be granted by anoriginator while other content cannot be granted by an originator. Usersgranted content by an originator own the content and can transfer thatownership without involvement from the content originator that theyreceived the content from. One use of such an implementation would be toallow a game publisher to create new content that can be used in one ormore of its games and control the initial allocation of that content tousers, which will allow them to control the quantity of that contentthat exists. Another use would be for a game retailer to be able toreward its customers with new instances of the content, such as in apromotion rewarding the customer for buying a game from the retailer inwhich the content can be used. In some implementations, this right toissue new content ownership may be limited to a particular quantity thatcan be issued, such as having a limited edition of 1000 swords that canbe granted. A similar effect can be achieved by granting ownership ofnew content in the ownership block chain to a user at the time that thecontent is added to the system, which, for example, can be used to grantownership of 1000 new swords to a game retailer when the contentinformation for the new sword is added to the system, allowing the gameretailer to transfer the ownership of each new sword to users as it seesfit.

Yet again, the set of items that a newly found item can be might dependon choices that the player is allowed to make at the time that the itemis found. The mining can be done on an ongoing basis as the game runs,such as to take advantage of otherwise unused processing cycles. Suchmining can be in the form of performing work to add new blocks to thechain.

Still further, mining can be performed independently of the game. Thenewly found values may still be deterministic or may allow choices todetermine what they become when they are registered.

Contemplated herein is that the objects represented in the block chainmay be other than in-game content, such as games, video content, and/ormusic content. A first service can be set up to examine a block chain todetermine what other second services a user is subscribed to and whatcontent those subscriptions currently proved the user rights to access.The first service can then provide access to the content to the userbased on the user's right to access the content through the secondservice even though the user would not otherwise have the right toaccess the content directly through the first service. Such a system canbe used to set up independent secondary market places for the transferof content that is not governed by a particular company or platform.Such a system would lead to much more portable content rights on thepart of users, and would not be vulnerable to a single point of failureor even intentional disruption on the part of any company. One of themajor disadvantages with current content purchase systems is that theyare all tied to a platform and/or company. Users are therefore reluctantto spend money to purchase content in such existing content managementsystems as their right to the content is only worth anything as long asthe ones who control the system continue to support the system. Presentprinciples eliminate such disadvantages, encouraging consumers tomigrate their content purchases to digital format.

Accordingly, in some implementations the content information identifiescontent that is maintained outside of the system, such as identifiers tocontent in a CDN or video game. In other implementations, the contentinformation contains the full information about a piece of content thatusers can own. This information can include game rules for the content,artwork, and statistics such as power, defense, cost, and/or rarity.

In some implementations, the system is used to track a user's ownershipof game assets. In some of these implementations the full game istracked by the system, while in other implementations the system tracksthe ownership of game assets that can be used within one or more gamesthat exist outside of the system.

In some implementations, the content information added in a block cancontain errata that changes the definition of content that waspreviously added, such as to correct a typo, adjust the rules to cover acorner case that was initially missed, or adjust the statistics to makethe game more balanced. In some implementations, the content informationadded in a block can depreciate or remove existing content, in such acase users that own the content being removed may be compensated. Thiscompensation can come in the form of exchanging their ownership of theremoved content with ownership of one or more other types of content,which in some cases can include content added in the same block thatremoved the existing content. An example of a system that tracks gameassets that can be used within a game that exists outside of the systemis a system that provides the user with costumes that can be worn by auser's character in a game that the user can play without using thesystem if he does not wish to have his character wear the costume. Anexample of a game where the full game is tracked by the system is atradable playing card game where the only cards available to each playerare the ones tracked by the system and the game is only playable byusing the game units tracked by the system. A hybrid implementation canexist where a trading card game may give the user full use of all cardsin the base set, allowing the game to be played without the system, butall of the expansion cards are only usable by users who have ownershiprights to those cards within the system.

In some implementations, the content that is added can be a set ofcontent that is added at one time. This can be used to add an expansionset to a game. In some implementations, such an addition can be done inthe form of a single block, which can be of a variable size toaccommodate different sized sets of content. In other implementationsfixed sized blocks are used, in which case a large expansion would needto be added in multiple blocks. The multiple blocks can be added to theblock chain as a single atomic action to ensure that the whole set isavailable at the same time. In some implementations additions ormodifications to the game rules, or new game mechanics can be added tothe content information. Such information would not be a description ofa unit that can be owned in the ownership block chain. In someimplementations, this game rule information may contain new rules thatare referenced by content information about units that can be owned,such as the addition of a new ability that a game unit may possess.

In some implementations users can vote on whether or not to include anexpansion set in the game system. If a consensus of users' votes toinclude an expansion set, then the set is added to the system. In someimplementations users may vote on what content is included in a pendingexpansion set. This not only allows users to vote on what is in anexpansion set, but allows a consensus on what sets of content areincluded together. This also allows users to play test potentialexpansion sets so that game balance problems can be worked out beforethe expansion set is added to the system. In some implementations, apotential expansion set can be made available to play in a beta format.In some implementations, each user gets a single vote, while in someimplementations users may have weighted votes based on factors such asquantity of content owned or amount of time spent playing. In someimplementations, users are rewarded with votes on future content and/orexpansion sets when they complete specific tasks or achieve certainmilestones in one or more games.

In some implementations, separate sets of block chains are used fortracking the ownership of each expansion and what content is in eachexpansion. Such an implementation has the advantage that the set of datais segregated so that only data about sets currently being used needs tobe examined to determine ownership. Such an implementation has thedisadvantage that any trades of units between sets requires updates toseparate block chains and would be more difficult to achieve in anatomic manner.

When an expansion set is added to a game, then players playing the gamecan agree to which expansion sets are allowed to be used in that game,and even decide if base set content is allowed to be used in the game.In some implementations, there can be standard game types, such asunlimited that allow all content or a standard game type that onlyallows the base set and the two most recent additions.

In some implementations when a user is granted a new entitlement theuser can be given a choice of which expansion, or the base set, that shewants the content to come from. In some implementations, this choice isdependent on preferences that the user sets before the entitlement isgranted. This has the advantage that no user input is needed at the timethe entitlement is granted and there is no delay between when theentitlement is granted and when it is registered in the ownership blockchain. In some implementations game units for new entitlements aredistributed across all available units. In some implementations gameunits for new entitlements are more likely to come from more recent ormore popular expansions. In some implementations game units for newentitlements come from a particular expansion set. Such new entitlementgrants may come from mining, game play, rewards for content creation, orany other activity that results in new entitlement creation.

In some implementations, there can be rules to allow users to exchangecontent that they own for other available content. For example, a usercould be granted the ability to trade a common card from expansion set 1for a common card in expansion set 3 if he wanted to play with the morerecent expansion set. In another example, a player could trade a rarecard for two common cards. Other restrictions can be placed on trades,such as only for cards of the same type, color, and/or cost. In someimplementations only trades from a whitelist of allowable trades can bemade.

In some implementations, some content ownership can give the user anoption on which type of content she wishes to have it be when it isused. For example, in a card game implementation the user may have anentitlement to a placeholder card that the user can select any commonresource generation card to use for the placeholder when using thatplaceholder in a game. In some implementations, the choice would have tobe made when the game starts. In some implementations, the choice ofwhich card to use for the placeholder may change within the game playbased on what is allowed by the game. In some implementations, theplaceholder is implemented as a special type of entitlement thatenumerates the possibilities. In some implementations, once the userchooses what type of unit a placeholder should be the user gainsownership of that type of unit and loses any ownership they had for theplaceholder. In such an implementation, once the choice for what aplaceholder should be is determined it cannot be later changed.

In other implementations, the placeholder is implemented as a type ofcontent that enumerates the other types of content. In someimplementations, the result of mining can give the user raw materialsand the game can allow the user to craft items they want from those rawmaterials. In such an implementation, the game would then add atransaction to the ownership block chain removing the ownership of theraw materials and adding ownership of the item or items that werecrafted.

In some implementations, a user may use content from multiple blockchain accounts within the same game play by providing the keys to eachof those accounts. In some implementations, a game communicates with acentral server that ensures that the same block chain account is notbeing used by more than one game player at the same time. In someimplementations one or more block chain accounts can be associated witha game account so that when a user plays with that game account contentthat is owned in an associated block chain account can automatically beavailable in games. In some cases, the game account is used across morethan one game, such as an account with a game console provider.

In some implementations content owned by the user in the system can beusable in more than one game. For example, a user might own a top-hat inthe system and there can be several games that allow the use of contentowned in the system and understand the top hat content to be able toallow the user's character in the game to wear the top hat.

In some implementations, the system can track user behavior in additionto ownership, such as time spent playing, or number of times eachcontent is used by a user. This can give the advantage that activeplayers can be rewarded with prestige or other compensation. In someimplementations, no record of activity using the content from the systemis generated as the content is used.

In some implementations, the system is used for tracking of user rightsto entitlements. In such a case, the ownership block chain tracks therights that a user has to pieces of media or other assets, such assongs, albums, movies, TV shows, TV series, TV channels, mediasubscriptions, electronic books, or video games. In most cases theseassets will be protected by some form of DRM to allow access only tousers that can demonstrate that they have rights, such as having theirrights to the asset included in the ownership block chain. In somesystems used for tracking entitlements a standard set of encodings areincluded in the content block chain, so that the particular entitlementindicated by that encoding can be recognized and fulfilled by aplurality of providers based on the user's right to the entitlement inthe ownership block chain.

In some implementations, the entitlements tracked by the system may givethe user rights to something physical, such as books, clothing, ortickets to an event, instead of just electronic entitlements. In such animplementation, the block chain would be amended to remove the user'sright to the entitlement when he exchanges his right for a physical goodor entry into a physical event.

In some implementations, the content block chain 204 is not implementedas a block chain and instead is a static set of content information. Insuch an implementation, a separate ownership block chain 202 can becreated when ownership of a new set of content information is to betracked. The new block chain can be governed by the same set of systemrules, but using a different set of content information. In someimplementations, the users of the system can switch to using a newversion of the system, which has the same ownership block chain, but hasan updated set of content information.

Updating content information in an implementation that does not use ablock chain implementation may be more difficult as a block chainimplementation is designed for information to be appended. In someimplementations, the content information can be completely replaced witha new set of content information, in which case a hash of the newcontent information may be added to the ownership block chain 202 toallow the change to be validated. Such an update needs to be donecarefully to ensure that all of the existing content references in theownership block chain 202 are still valid after the update.

New ownership in rights in the block chain 202 can be created throughmining. Mining can be in the form of work done to maintain the blockchains, including adding new blocks and verifying content. Mining canalso be done in the form of work to solve complex cryptographicequations.

In some instances, mining can be limited to processing done by a gameconsole. Such an implementation has the advantage that the computingpower available for each user to dedicate to mining is limited,eliminating users that have a significant advantage in mining byspending a lot of money to buy computing power that they use for mining.In some implementations, mining happens in certain points during gameplay, such as when a character opens a chest in the game. Such miningmay be limited to a providing a limited set of items. The game should beimplemented such that it can sign the content entitlements that itgrants through such a mechanism to ensure that users can not add theentitlements outside of game play. The key that the game uses forsigning the entitlements it grants needs to be protected, such as byonly doing the signing on game system servers and not sending the key tothe client. In such an implementation, the definition of the contentthat can be granted by a game system should contain a signature that canbe used to verify that entitlements for that content are properlysigned. In some implementations, the game performs mining operationswith spare computing power while the user is playing the game and whenthe mining generates an object the game may present the object to theuser in-game, such as by spawning a chest containing the object. Such asystem can have the advantage that it can receive near real timefeedback about choices for the object from the user as the object isfound so that the object ownership can be registered with these choices.Such a system also has the advantage that it can be a way to reward userfor the time they sped playing the game.

In some implementations mining for difficult blocks can be rewarded morethan mining for easy blocks when that mining finds a new block. Forexample, mining the easiest blocks may yield only common game units,while mining difficult blocks may yield rare game units or multiplecommon game units. In some implementations mining a difficult block mayprovide a set of units, such as one of each unit in a particularexpansion set.

In some implementations, successful mining can reward users with points.Users can then exchange these points for the game units they want. Thisis similar to awarding placeholder units except that there can be manydifferent types of placeholder units, with each type of placeholder unithaving different rules for what it can be exchanged for. In someimplementations mining difficult blocks rewards more points than miningeasy blocks.

In some implementations, the system can be designed to allow game unitsto be put at risk or expended as part of game play. In such animplementation, the user should need to provide the game with acryptographic key specific to each unit being risked so that if the gamecreates a transaction where the ownership is destroyed or transferredthere can be verification that the transaction was authorized. Such asystem would allow users to ante up units as stakes in a game where thewinner gets to keep all of the units that were anteed. Such animplementation can enable high stakes games where if a unit gets killedor destroyed in the game then the user loses ownership of that unit. Inmost cases such a high stakes game would also provide opportunities forusers to acquire new units through game play so that there is also apotential ownership up side of playing for the user. In someimplementations ownership rights lost by a player will be completelyremoved from the system. In some implementations, new ownership rightsgranted to a user by a game are ownership rights that did not existpreviously. In some implementations ownership rights lost by a playerget transferred to the game system and the game system may transferownership of those units to players that earn then through game play. Insome implementations units are transferred directly from one player toanother player through the game based on game play.

FIG. 3 shows a system diagram of the entities involved in oneimplementation of the system in which the system is used toindependently track ownership of content rights. In such a system, a setof content entitlements 302 is tracked in a block chain, such as theblock chain 202 in FIG. 2. The block chain allows transfers of contententitlement ownership from one user to another independently of anyparticular third party, such as the content owner, the entity thatoriginally sold the entitlement to the content, or any of the entitiesthat can provide the content to the user to allow the user to consumethe content.

Content 301 corresponds to one of the choices described in the contentblock chain 204. In the case of content that consists of large media,generally the content block chain 204 will only provide informationabout the content and will not contain the full body of the content.Each content entitlement 302 will be a record of ownership of the rightsto one piece of content 301 through relationship 308. In some alternateimplementations, a content entitlement 302 can provide ownership rightsto more than one piece of content 301.

Each content entitlement 302 will provide the ownership right to oneuser 303 through relationship 309. A content entitlement 302 that islater added to the ownership block chain 202 can specify a second userfor the same entitlement, in which case the ownership granted by thecontent entitlement 302 to the first user is no longer considered validas it has been replaced by the new content entitlement 302.

In some implementations, each piece of content 301 has an associatedpublisher 304 who owns the rights to that piece of content as shown inrelationship 310. The relationship can be stored in the contentinformation about the content in the content block chain 204.

A publisher 304 can grant distribution rights 305 to the content that itowns to retailers 306 that allow those retailers to sell ownership ofrights to the content to users 303. Relationship 315 shows the creationof distribution rights 305 by a publisher 304. Relationship 312 showsthe relationship that each distribution right 305 is granted to a singleretailer 306. In some implementations, a distribution right 305 maygrant the rights to sell all content owned by a publisher 304, as shownby relationship 311. In some implementations, a distribution right 305may grant the rights to sell a particular piece of content 301 owned bya publisher 304, as shown by relationship 313. The system can supportboth relationships 311 and 313, or it may just support one of them. Insome implementations, the choice of which relationship 311 or 313 thatpublisher 304 grants can be a business decision on the part of publisher304.

When the user 303 seeks to consume the content 301 that he or she isgranted a right to through a content entitlement 302, content isdelivered to the user from a content portal 307. The content portal mayverify the user's right to consume the content before distributing thecontent to the user. In some implementations, the content portal employsDigital Rights Management (DRM) to prevent the user from directlyaccessing the raw form of the content, such as through a device thatwill play the content for the user but not allow the user to access thesource of the content. Typically, a content portal 307 may use a ContentDistribution Network (CDN) to provide sizable media content to users,such as video files like movies or TV shows, or video games.

Relationship 314 represents the set of content 301 that is provided by acontent portal 307. In some implementations, this relationship is storedin the system, which has the advantage that users can know where toaccess the content that they own. In other implementations, a user canhave a relationship with a content portal 307, and the content portal303 can tell by examining the ownership block chain 202 what content 301that the content entitlements 302 owned by the user grant the userrights to. The content portal can then provide any of the content 301that the user 303 has rights to for consumption by the user 303regardless of what retailer 306 those rights wire initially obtainedthrough.

A retailer 306 may also be a content portal 307, in which case the setof content 301 that entity can sell as a retailer may or may not be thesame set of content 301 that that entity can provide as a content portal307.

FIG. 4 shows a system diagram of one implementation of a system that canbe used for the system implementation in FIG. 3. In the implementationin FIG. 4 separate block chains are used for tracking each of thecontent entitlements (ownership) 402, content information 403,publishers 404, retailers 405, and distribution rights 406. The systemrules 401 contain information on how each of these block chains areadded to and verified along with information on how the information ineach of these block chains is used.

In some implementations, some of the information that is shown stored inseparate block chains may be combined and stored together in the blocksof a shared chain. For example, the publisher, retailer, anddistribution rights could be stored in the same block chain. In anotherimplementation, the content entitlement block chain 402 can remain as aseparate block chain while the other block chains 403, 404, 405, and 406can be combined into a single block chain.

In some implementations, the set of content that a content portal canprovide is also stored in the system, which is not shown in FIG. 4. Thatinformation can be stored in its own block chain or can be combined withthe information in another block chain.

It may now be appreciated that an example use case for a block chaingaming system is to implement a collectable unit game such as acollectable trading card game backed by a block chain that tracks whichunits each player currently owns or controls. Such a game system wouldbe able to allow users to collect game units independently of anycompany or game platform. In some implementations, the block chain istied to a particular company and/or a particular platform. Secondarymarkets can be set up for the exchange of game units. Transfers of unitscan be tied to other exchanges outside of the game, such as a monetarypayment. In some instances, the rules governing the game play areformalized and included with the block chain and the rules governing theblock chain so that the game is self-contained. This would also allowthe game rules to be automatically enforced. In some instances,additional content can be added to the possible values as the blockprogresses. In some of these instances the content is added in sets,such as an expansion pack. In some cases, users decide which expansionpacks are allowed in their game when starting a game. When a game isplayed the game evaluates the block chain ledger to determine what unitseach player who will participate in the game owns at the time.

In some implementations, all data may be stored together in a singleblock chain.

It will be appreciated that whilst present principals have beendescribed with reference to some example embodiments, these are notintended to be limiting, and that various alternative arrangements maybe used to implement the subject matter claimed herein.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: tracking ownership ofcontent using an ownership block chain; tracking, using a content datastructure, content, the content being in the content data structure andbeing related to ownership of content indicated in the ownership blockchain; and managing alteration of the block chain and content datastructure using a rule module; wherein the content comprises at leastone computer game having rules governing play of the computer game, andthe rules governing play of the computer game are included in the rulemodule and/or the ownership block chain and/or the content datastructure, the computer game being contained in the rule module and/orthe ownership block chain and/or the content data structure, the rulesgoverning play of the computer game being enforced.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: adding a content entitlement to the ownership blockchain to specify plural owners for a single content.
 3. The method ofclaim 1, comprising: associating information with the content datastructure indicating a publisher of content in the content block chain.4. The method of claim 1, wherein the content data structure comprises acontent block chain.
 5. The method of claim 1, comprising using acomputer game console to execute the method.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the rule module comprises instructions about types of contentinformation that can be stored in the content data structure and how thecontent information is interpreted.
 7. The method of claim 1, whereinthe rule module comprises instructions governing how a consensus isreached for what content information should be added to the content datastructure.
 8. A device comprising: at least one computer storageapparatus comprising instructions executable by at least one processorfor: tracking ownership of content using an ownership block chain;tracking, using a content data structure, content, the content being inthe content data structure and being related to ownership of contentindicated in the ownership block chain; and managing alteration of theblock chain and content data structure using a rule module; wherein thecontent comprises at least one computer game having rules governing playof the computer game, and the rules governing play of the computer gameare included in the rule module and/or the ownership block chain and/orthe content data structure, the computer game being contained in therule module and/or the ownership block chain and/or the content datastructure, the rules governing play of the computer game being enforced.9. The device of claim 8, wherein the instructions are executable for:adding a content entitlement to the ownership block chain to specifyplural owners for a single content.
 10. The device of claim 8, whereinthe instructions are executable for: associating information with thecontent data structure indicating a publisher of content in the contentblock chain.
 11. The device of claim 8, wherein the content datastructure comprises a content block chain.
 12. The device of claim 8,wherein the instructions are executable for using a computer gameconsole to execute the method.
 13. The device of claim 8, wherein therule module comprises instructions about types of content informationthat can be stored in the content data structure and how the contentinformation is interpreted.
 14. The device of claim 8, wherein the rulemodule comprises instructions governing how a consensus is reached forwhat content information should be added to the content data structure.